Many manufacturing operations take place in small clean room enclosures ("mini-enclosures"). This is particularly true at semiconductor manufacturing facilities. In these facilities, the mini-enclosures require the supply of ultra-clean air at flow rates that are uniform and controlled with a high degree of precision. Because different chip manufacturing processes take place within mini-enclosures, the size, shape, number, and location of mini-enclosures within a given facility can vary. What this means is that the air delivery systems for one or all enclosures within the facility is customized for each enclosure. Customization generally means that the air delivery system will have differences in ductwork, fan size, and filter size from one enclosure to the next. Nevertheless, all of the air delivery systems have the same fundamental mode of operation in at least one respect: all utilize a fan that drives air into the enclosure, and, the air is driven through a filter before it passes into the manufacturing space inside the enclosure.
The common practice is to design the air delivery system to match the requirements of the manufacturing operation within the enclosure. This practice creates problems when the operation within the enclosure changes or the enclosure is used for a completely different operation, because the original specifications of the air delivery system do not meet the requirements of the new situation.
Another problem with the practice described above relates to maintenance. After a period of use, the filter becomes clogged with particulate matter and needs to be replaced. Fan maintenance is required from time-to-time. In either situation, the manufacturing operation inside the enclosure has to be shut down. It would be preferable to minimize or eliminate the shut down time so that processing will be interrupted as little as possible.
For the above reasons, there is a need to create a generic form of mini-enclosure air delivery system that is easy to configure and adapt to the various kinds of enclosures used. Moreover, there is a need to develop air delivery systems that can be maintained with minimal impact on production. As will be seen, the present invention provides a solution to these problems.